1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a removable gripping device for a cooking vessel.
More specifically, the gripping device of the invention includes                an upper arm for internal support and a lower arm for external support, designed to work together so that, by gripping, the upper and lower arms push against the internal face and external face, respectively, of the lateral wall;        a mobile tightening arm which rotates on an axis between unlocked and locked positions, in which the tightening arm pushes against the lateral wall and works together with at least one of the two lower and upper arms to pin the lateral wall against at least one of these two arms.        
2. Description of Related Art
A gripping device of this type is, described, inter alia, in document FR 2 936 403. To mount the gripping device on a vessel, the user orients the device to place the lateral vessel wall against the upper and lower arms. The user then tightens the tightening arm which, by rotating, moves closer to the upper arm and pushes against the vessel wall to lock it between the upper arm and the mobile tightening arm in a tightened position. The device is then locked using a locking finger. This tightening applies a tightening force with a vertical component, which is useful when moving the vessel vertically when, for example, sautéing or flipping crêpes. The tightening force may be limited because shocks caused by use are directly counteracted by the tightening force. However, shocks applied to a frying pan in use tend to move the mobile arm from its tightened position. Only the locking finger prevents this effect. To eliminate play, the locking position must coincide with the tightening position. However, in practice, the locking position is reached either prior to or after the tightened position. In the first case, there is play between the vessel wall and the gripping device. In the second case, this leads to hyperstatism in the mobile tightening arm, which is absorbed by components elasticity. Despite everything, if sufficiently strong shocks are applied to the vessel, these components, which are highly stressed, may be compromised, resulting in play.
As a result, tightening walls with varying thicknesses is only possible by allowing play in operation depending on the potential difference in thickness between different vessels. This play may be reduced by an elastic element. But the compression of this elastic element induced by sufficiently strong shocks may also strip the gripping device.
Furthermore, play between the gripping device and the cooking vessel results, to some degree, in premature aging of the vessel coating in the vicinity of the tightening zone. This coating, in particular enamels, may also be damaged by excessive tightening to avoid this play. Finally, and more importantly, play could strip the container, which creates a safety problem.